Lubricant compositions are used to reduce friction between moving surfaces. Such compositions can also assist with heat transfer, provide a medium for carrying away contaminants and debris, transmit power, and protect against wear and corrosion. As such, lubricant compositions can be used in a variety of different contexts. For example, lubricant compositions, in the form of a motor oil, can be used to reduce friction in various engine types, such as internal combustion engines. Lubricant compositions are also used to lubricate gear boxes, crank cases, transmissions, diesel engines, two-cycle engines, and various bearings.
Lubricant compositions have historically included a major amount of a base oil, such as mineral oil or some other petroleum fraction, which is mixed with one or more additives. The additives may improve the lubricating properties of the composition, and may also confer other beneficial properties on the composition, such as corrosion inhibition, wear resistance, and the like. Conventional base oils may impose certain limitations on the lubricating performance of the composition. Thus, conventional base oils can be partially or wholly replaced by synthetic base oils. Such synthetic base oils include polyalphaolefins (PAOs), polyesters, and alkylated benzenes and naphthalenes. While synthetic base oils can offer certain advantages over conventional base oils, limitations persist. Therefore, there is a continuing need to develop new base oil compositions that can offer certain performance advantages over compositions that are currently available on the market. Such performance advantages can include, among other features, improved viscosity performance at low and high temperatures and improved thermo-oxidative stability.
Novel alpha-olefin copolymer compositions are generally disclosed herein. Such copolymer compositions offer an attractive alternative to materials presently used in synthetic base oils, especially in instances where a higher viscosity (e.g., having a kinematic viscosity of at least 25 centistokes at 100° C.) lubricant may be desired.